Smart Start Impacts Literacy for Each Child in Every Community

The Smart Start Network works year-round to ensure children and families are supported, creating a brighter future for each child in every community. Each Local Partnership provides critical social and emotional support, needed resources and referrals, crucial infrastructure support, and innovative solutions to ensure children have what they need to thrive. To celebrate the new year, Smart Start will showcase the impact of the Network with early care and education, family support, early literacy, health and nutrition, and with early childhood system support and building. To learn more about Smart Start, you can read Smart Start’s 2021-2022 Impact Report.

Literacy is critical for early childhood development. Smart Start Local Partnerships throughout the state administer evidence-based and informed literacy programs such as Raising a Reader, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL), and Reach Out and Read to develop and improve literacy skills in young children.

These programs promote positive language-rich interactions—by not only providing books, but by increasing reading frequency and skills, fostering language skills, and nurturing relationships.

In 2021-2022, Smart Start Local Partnerships administered literacy programs which led to:

  • 297,019 children participating in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL)  ‘
  • 75,591 children participating in Reach Out and Read (ROR)
  • 4,404 families participating in Raising A Reader (RAR)
  • Over 2,000 caregivers participating in other literacy programs

In terms of children served, family and caregiver participation, and medical office participation, literacy for children and families served by Smart Start improved within the last fiscal year.

In particular, Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) which is available in every North Carolina County, distributed more than 11.7 million books to North Carolina Children since its statewide expansion.

Improvements due to DPIL include:

  • Parents reporting an increase in reading time from 41% to 62% after DPIL participation
  • 45% of families reporting that without DPIL, they would not have been able to purchase the types of books provided by the program for their children— of these parents, those identifying as American Indian or Alaskan Natives reported that they would not have been able to purchase books at a rate of 64.6% and those identifying as Latino or Hispanic reported a rate of 63%

father reading with daughterLocal Partnerships Create Impact

In addition to national programs, Smart Start Local Partnerships, are creating change in other ways.

In Richmond County, the Richmond County Partnership for Children is uplifting male role models by engaging male leaders in the community to read publicly. From high school students to former and current mayors, this effort is working to increase literacy through a positive role model.

You can learn more about the impact Smart Start has had across the state with early care and education by reading Smart Start’s 2021-2022 Annual Report.

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